Inspired transformation

RATHER THAN MOVE, THIS GOLD COAST FAMILY EMBARK ON AN EPIC RENOVATION TO CREATE THEIR FOREVER HOME

- KYLIE JACKES

It’s a common quandary owners face when their home no longer ticks all the boxes. Do you sell and buy elsewhere? Search for a new block to build on, or stay put and renovate? Gold Coast couple Josephine and Bryant grappled back and forth with this dilemma. They loved the location of the waterfront home they had bought in 2014 – as did their children, Michael, now 10, and Sofia, eight – yet by 2020 the almost 20-year-old home looked its age and lacked connection to the outdoors where they enjoyed spending time.

“We initially looked at selling and then building, but couldn’t find a suitable home, or a north-facing block that gave us a better outlook than we have,” says Josephine. The suburb – close to the beach, the kids’ school, restaurants and Josephine’s mum, who lived just down the road – was also hard to beat. “We realised that our location, right on the water with farmland on the opposite side of the canal, was really special and not something we could easily replicate elsewhere,” she adds.

Making the decision to stay, the couple’s focus shifted to a major renovation that encompassed a total interior refit and an extension to enlarge the main bedroom on the upper level and the alfresco below.